Truth About Sunglasses

My Fave; by Linda Farrow

Sunglasses, as probably won’t have escaped the more observant reader, have been rather fashionable for some time now. About 79 years to be precise, for ’twas in 1929 that a Sam Foster - and not, as may have been supposed, a Mr Ray Ban - sold the first pair of Foster Grant sunglasses on the boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

What a journey. And don’t be surprised if, for instance, Katie Holmes’s next pair become a matter of national concern, because shades have now acquired a socioeconomic relevance.

Suddenly, you see, shoving on a pair of sunnies isn’t merely a frivolous response to various stress triggers, such as finding yourself without access to eye make-up or being in a lift with Anna Wintour.

Au contraire. Wearing sunglasses has become a considered response to the numerous environmental and financial depredations that rain down upon us. By environmental, I don’t just mean the whole ozone thingy, but the troublesome business of eye contact and whether or not it is wise to make any when you are seated opposite a stranger on public transport. Thanks to the tireless efforts of celebrities such as George Michael and P. Diddy, it is now acceptable, albeit still a little crazy-looking, to sit in the dark wearing some kind of sun-shield over your eyes.

Sunglasses also reveal oceans about the current plight of women: not content with dieting to size zero, they are guaranteeing their virtual disappearance behind ever huger frames. It’s a scientific fact (call it Olsen’s law) that the skinnier the woman, the bigger her specs.

When you also consider just how infinitely greater the ratio of logo and bling to square centimeter of functioning product is on sunglasses compared with any other status item, and how donning the right style can knock three dress sizes off you, the answer to fashion’s burning question - what’s after the It Bag? - becomes glaringly apparent..

So far only Victoria Beckham has her own line, but presumably it’s only a matter of time before Kelly Osborne unleashes her Literary Collection on the world (the white heart-shaped ones that she has been espousing this year aren’t the result of a dare, apparently, but an homage to Nabokov’s Lolita, by way of the Kubrick movie) and Britney Spears launches a Morning After range.

Content courtesy of TimesOnline.

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